'I’m here to fight': Newton County coroner rescinds resignation in exclusive FOX 5 I-Team interview

COVINGTON, Ga. - It was a stunning reversal for Newton County Coroner Doretha Bailey-Butts. During an exclusive FOX 5 I-Team interview on Wednesday, Bailey-Butts said she had changed her mind about leaving her post just a day earlier announcing she would resign.

"At the end of the day, I’m here to fight and I will be retracted, and resubmitted my…that I’m staying on this job," Bailey-Butts said. "Mr. Russell, after speaking with you, I will be here."

She said she changed her mind during FOX 5's tour of the county morgue, which she called decrepit and too small for their operation.

"When you asked me that I looked like a woman who loves to do what I do," Bailey-Butts said in response to the question of when she changed her mind.

A Newton County probate judge was going to swear in the former coroner to take over until a special election could be held, but those plans appear to be on hold. The FOX 5 I-Team reached out to county officials who were surprised by Bailey-Butts' reversal. Those officials said any plans would be put on hold if she does decide to rescind her resignation.

That resignation was posted to her Facebook page on Tuesday. Bailey-Butts explained she felt like she had been set up to fail writing in part:

"What pushed me into this decision? During my campaign, I already felt hostility. I got some of my banners vandalized, I had my tires slashed. But my intentions were good so I still fought hard. When I won, my entire team had so much difficulty transitioning to the position. The old administration won’t cooperate. There were social media threads from other emergency response organizations bragging that they will not help out when the coroner needs them. There were too many scandals and issues about how I do my duties which mainly comes from the fact that I am black. There were even issues with my office space, my deputies, and other stuff which weren’t a problem with the previous coroner. I even received live bullets in my office. In the earlier cases, some of the other authorities expected us to do everything on our own, even remove the deceased from being entrapped inside of a vehicle. These people wouldn’t accept change for the better. They got so used to the old system. They are intimidated by my capacity, knowledge, and experience. This is a classic example of racism and discrimination." 

RELATED: Newton County coroner says she will resign Friday

The FOX 5 I-Team reported earlier this year on how there were calls for her resignation a month into her tenure stemming from a deadly car crash on Highway 212 on Jan. 22. According to sheriff’s department reports, Coroner Doretha Bailey-Butts took "a couple of photos" of the deceased, left "a body bag on the trunk of the deceased car" and then told police she "was leaving" without transporting the body.

According to the deputy's report, someone called Sheriff Ezell Brown and, after the sheriff called Bailey-Butts, the newly-elected coroner agreed to transport the body.

Following the January incident, Newton County Manager Lloyd Kerr had sent a petition to remove the coroner from office to Georgia Coroner’s Training Council. He also admitted he was upset at comments she made during commission meetings. Kerr wrote in his removal petition during a recent commission meeting Bailey-Butts was asking for budget increases and held up an envelope and said she had information "to take Covington down." 

RELATED: Newton County manager wants newly-elected coroner removed from office

Kerr also wrote that the new coroner hired three deputy chief coroners "without informing the county." And he wrote she mishandled a suicide and a death in a local hotel that took "3+ hours" to remove the body.

Bailey-Butts' resignation would have been effective on Friday at 8 a.m. 

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